Camp Restore

For I will RESTORE health to you and your wounds I will heal declares the LORD……Jeremiah 30:17

The trip that ten members of Chapel of the Cross, St. Louis, MO, made to Camp Restore in New Orleans during the first week of October was an eye-opening experience for eight of us. It’s almost impossible to visualize how much restoration remains to be done after two years, until you see first hand the still empty shopping centers, hospitals and neighborhoods.
Orv and Clara Mueller had already been back in March with a group of seven after Sarah Wootton organized a servant event there. The Muellers also returned for a short trip over Mother’s Day in May. Having lived in New Orleans for 25 years, from 1964 to 1974 when Orv pastored a church there, and then from 1988 to 2003 while he served as President of the Southern District of the LCMS, Orv and Clara yearned to do something to help the people affected by Katrina.
Camp Restore, based at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and School, located in New Orleans East, began operation in October 2006 after Laborers for Christ refurbished the church and school from its own hurricane damage so that it could be used as a volunteer camp to house people who wanted to help rebuild homes, churches and schools in the area. Camp Restore’s mission statement is to “Restore faith, home and community to victims of Hurricane Katrina.” We were told at the first devotion on Monday morning that we might feel overwhelmed and believe what we were doing was not making a difference. But they said we could give hope to at least one home owner. And that was so true for our group. We worked all week on a house owned by Marva, who even encouraged us when we judged we had gotten so little accomplished. She told us that the Good Samaritan did not go to the end of the journey with the injured traveler but did what he could to help and went on his way.
We have since learned that two more groups have been to Marva’s house trying to get it ready for her to move back. Please pray for Marva and so many others who are trying to keep hope in what so often looks hopeless. Pray for God to encourage the staff at Camp Restore as their jobs seem overwhelming. They were thankful for the box of Pampered Chef products that Denise Koch sent along and for the box of new linens that Carolyn Harris sent, which they can use at the Camp or pass on to those in need. Pray also for funding for their work. One of the groups who help with that is Lutheran Disaster Response which is one of Chapel’s special mission emphases for 2007.
Our group of ten developed a wonderful camaraderie and had lots of fun along with the very hard physical work. We left feeling grateful for the opportunity to share God’s love and hope on behalf of our Chapel congregation. It is going to take years to complete the needed work.
To learn more about Camp Restore, visit their web site at http://camprestore.org.